6th page of 10 pages
Chapter 2
Exodus 3,6-11
And he said, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. Then Yahweh said, "I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring my people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt." But Moses said to God, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?"
3. Interpretation of Exodus 3,6-11
3.1. The Names of GOD
Yahweh introduces himself, not "I am your God" or "I am the God of your father" as in Deuteronomium, where is thought to the anterior generation, but "I am the God of your father (singular), the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. In a later chapter, Exodus 6,3, it is expressly noted that God has appeared to the fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as El Schaddaj. But who is the God of the father? Wo is El Shaddaj?
3.1.1. The God of Abraham
In Genesis 17,1f. Yahweh appeared to Abraham. Abraham was then 99 years old.
When Abram was ninety-nine years old Yahweh appeared to Abram and said to him, "I am El Shaddaj; walk before me, and be blameless, that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly."
Further, Abraham is named father of many nations, he should increase in number and be fruitful. But "to increase" and "be fruitful" are attributes of the Goddess of Earth, as she was described by Marija Gimbutas.
In the Septuagint, the first Greek translation of the Old Testament, El Shaddaj is called "Almighty God" (1). But what exactly does "Shaddaj" means, they knew no longer and interpretated the name suitably. But also the priests who had written the Priestly Code, took the name El Shaddaj for their own theological concept (2).
Striking are the many femal hints to Shaddaj. For example in the text Genesis 49,25 Shaddaj is related to breast and womb:
by the God of your father who will help you, by Shaddaj who will bless you with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that crouches beneath, blessings of the breasts and of the womb.
Isajah sees violence and destruction by Shaddaj:
Wail, for Yahweh's Day is near;
as destruction from Shaddaj it will come! (Is. 13,6).
In the third oracle of Balaam is written:
the oracle of him who hears the words of God,
who sees the vision of Shaddaj (Num. 24,4)
Shaddaj is associated in these texts with "bosom and womb", with "devastation" and "revelation". "Bosom and womb" point to a goddess. The same goddess also reveals events and brings destruction to her enemies. These goddesses are well known in the Ancient Near East such as the warlike Ishtar von Arbela, who appears to a seer in Assyria. The seer told the king Assurbanipal of Assyria:
....Laid down a seer and a saw a vision. When he woke up,
Isthar had him see a nocturnal vision. He then told me: "Ishtar who was
living in Arbela, came in. At the right and left she had quivers hanging, and she
held the bow in her hand (and) the sharp sword drawning for the battle. In
front of you she came (and) like the mother, your bearer, she talked to you.
Ishtar called to you, the sublime among the gods, and gave the command: "Be
careful and comply with the declaration. Wheter your face is addressed,
there I will go with you". You (even) said to her: "Where you go I
will go with you, Mistress of Mistresses". (Because) she announced to you
the following: "You should stay here, where Nabu's home is. Eat food, drink
wine, make music (and) worship my divinity. Till I start to perform this
work (and) fulfill your heart's desires, your face will not fade nor your
feet will be motionless, nor miss your strength in the rush of battle". In her good
bosom she embraced you and protected your whole body. Of Lul (the month) ..
"the decision (?) of the goddesses", at the feast of sublime Ashur, of the
month of Sin, the leading light of heaven and earth I trusted in the
decision of brilliant Nannar and in the decision of Ishtar, my lady, which
will not be changed. I mobilised my battle troops, my warriors, who were
preparing for war at the behest of Ashur, of Sin and of Ishtar (3).
Similar to El Shaddaj there come together revelation, war and bossom to Ishtar of Arbela. Another goddess of ancient Near East we know from Syria, Anat goddess of love and war or Sekhmet of Egypt, the mistress of tremor. She was the mistress of battles. Once people had risen against Re, Sekhmet avenged him. She killed so many people that Re believed, she wil cut off all human beings (4).
Already Martin Luther translated El Shaddaj as "mother's breast" (5). W. J. Hollenweger wrote in his blog on 20.09.2007 (6):
To translate El Shaddaj as "Mother Goddess" is certainly more correct than the wrong translation of "omnipotent".
3.1.2. The God of Isaac
Abraham receives the order from Yahweh to kill his son in Moriah (Genesis 22,11-14). At the last moment Yahweh's messenger intervenes:
But Yahweh's messenger called to him from heaven and said, "Abraham, Abraham!" And he said, "Here am I." He said, "Do not lay your hand on the boy nor do any harm to him, for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me." And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called the name of that place, "Yahweh will provide"; as it is said to this day, "On the mount of Yahweh it shall be provided."
Similar to Exodus 3 in this text there are found Yahweh's messenger and a thicket (here: sebak). Instead of a snake, here appears a ram, which is, as shown above, also a part of the tree goddess.
An example from the literature:
from "the Symbolism of the Biblical World" by Othmar Keel. The picture shows clearly two rams, which are bound with their penis on a tree or bush. Next to the rams two cherubim are seen. Othmar Keel wrote about this picture:
While the goats on the tree of life forebode his vital
power,
the cherubim signal his holiness. In the Psalms they appear close to the
deity.
Another image in
"The Lady of the Beasts" by Buffie Jackson shows a dominant ram standing on a
stylized bush. Also this picture shows a close relationship between the bush and
the goat.
In the story of the burning bush, Moses is explicitly mentioned as a herder of sheep and goats. Therefore these animals had greater relation to the story than they have in the present version.
Another good example of goads on a tree in "the Symbolism of the Biblical World" by Othmar Keel.
3.1.3. The God of Jacob
One night Jacob fights with a river demon and defeats him before the drawn. The stranger gives Jacob the name Israel with the explanation:
Then he said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed." (Gen. 32,28).
Three chapters later, God introduces himself to Jacob as El Shaddaj. El Shaddaj also gives Jacob the name Israel with the ground "be fruitful and multiply":
And God said to him, "Your name is Jacob; no longer shall your name be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name." So he called his name Israel. And God said to him, "I am El Shaddaj: befruitful and multiply. A nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall come from your own body. The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you, and I will give the land to your offspring after you." Then God went up from him in the place where he had spoken with him. And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he had spoken with him, a pillar of stone. He poured out a drink offering on it and poured oil on it. So Jacob called the name of the place where God had spoken with him Bethel. (Gen. 35,5-10).
"Be fruitful and multiply", many nations and dynasties shall come from Jacob. This text recalls more of a fertility rite between an acient Near Eastern King and a goddess of vegetation.
Today in the literature Israel is translated with "God is fighting (for us)" or "God may fight (for us)", or another translation is "God rules" or "God may rule". These do not fit with "be fruitful". To a complete different translation Robert Graves thought (7), to "Ish-Rahel", Rahel's Husband". In the biblical story Rahel is the favorite wife of Jacob. The name Rahel means ewe. And the ewe is a manifestation of Ashera.
Moses is both maternal and paternal descended from the tribe of Levi (Ex. 2,1). Leah, Jacob's first wife is a ancestor of Levi (Gen. 29,34). In the literature the name Leah is derived from "worn out", "tired", therefore she is the "weary". Some scholars translate Leah with "wild cow". The "wild cow" is an aspect of Ashera (8) and the aspect of many ancient Near Eastern goddesses. Lea as "wild cow" would fit well with Rahel. While Lea would represent the farmers, Rahel the shepherds. Other scientists guess Lea is an Assyrian word for "Lady", "souvereign". But Eduard Meyer (9) sees it differently. According to him, Lea, Levi and Lewiathan have etymologically the same origin "ljjh" "presenting as a ring", "to wind". Ljih therefore means "snake". The author points to the snake cult (Nechustan in II. King 18,14) in Jerusalem (10). Anyway, this meaning of Lea would fit well with the serpent of Moeses. In Exodus 4 not God of Jacob would appear but his female ancestor, Lea. She manifestes herself to him as a tree and a serpent. But a story of Lea as tribal mother and goddess does not fit in the patriarchal attitude of the author of "the burning thornbush".
Text and Design: Esther Keller-Stocker, Horgen, Zürich (Switzerland)
Last correction on 07.02.2010.
I'm looking forward to your comments and your suggestion!
Contact me at esther@estherkeller.ch
